Out for a Walk
by Karianasan
Summary: Scooby takes Velma for a walk. And they find a bit more then just some sticks and branches that are interesting. Chapter 6!
1. Out for a walk

The day _had_ been peaceful...

Zoom in on the use of past tense. Velma had found the day had been uneventful enough to read a book in her favorite spot. It was an old favorite she hadn't picked up in a while and thought to give it a read again. Probably was for the best since it wasn't as bothersome to get interrupted, as the silence that had been resting around her was broken.

"Relma Relma Relma!"

Bounding into the room was the large Dane of the household. Odd that she had not heard him coming till he rounded the hallway arch and burst into the living room. He looked excited, bounding up and down with seemingly endless energy. He wanted her attention and he was going to get it. She moved the book aside just in time to get a soggy leash flopped into her lap. She was thankful for a bookmark, a habit she had learned from long ago in this house to prevent the loss of her place due to random events. Looking at the thing in her lap she guessed what he wanted, but thought to double check the dog's intentions.

"What's up Scooby?"

She questioned the pogo stick imitating mutt. She watched and soon found herself dizzy from following his lively motions before he responded. A hand coming to her head to steady herself.

"R'uh Relma… Ralk! Ret's r'o!"

"Oh, you want to go for a walk. Alright."

Yep, she was right. Looking in her lap she found the dripping leash. It was one of the few things she had to get used to when living with a dog in the house. He was pretty good about anything that might belong to someone else, but most of Scooby's things got covered at one point or another with his drool. Picking up a bit that had not gotten soaked, she stood up and brushed the drool from her relaxed sweatpants she used indoors. Leaning over, she waited till he sat still enough for her to clip the leash upon his collar. Not that he really needed it, but it was an easier way to keep tabs on the inquisitive Dane. She was almost pulled to the door as Scooby pushed to get towards the door.

"S…slow down Scooby! I need to open the door first."

"R'o r'ow Rurry r'up!"

"Let me get dressed at least…" She tried to protest as he pulled her nearer to the door.

"R'o! Rets ro Relma!" The Dane looked back at her. She was dressed well enough, it's not like she wasn't wearing anything. So he barked back. "R'ou rook r'ine. Ret's ro!"

With a sigh, she pulled on some red sneakers she had in closet nearby the door and got nearly hauled out face first to the sidewalk as she had opened the door to let him outside. Thankfully, she was able to lunge into an odd landing, so her face had not had to meet the concrete fast. Skidding almost a foot in that awkward pose, she managed to get him to stop so she was able to close the door. Once the door was closed though, he didn't hold back on his urge to get somewhere. Velma had to run to keep up till he got the initial 'whee I'm outside' rush out of his system and moved to making sure to sniff everything on the way to the park. Since she was going to be force outside, they might as well make a day out of it. Nothing else major happening at the house anyway, that she would have to stay around for. Though she wished Scooby had given her time to get out of her sweatpants and into something more normal for her to wear. Oh well, nothing she could do now, the house was in the distance and the pulling from the leash told her that he wasn't stopping any time soon. He had a lot of sniffing to get caught up on. Not like she was running around in her underwear, sweatpants were clothing either way. Just not what she liked to wear when outside.

The park was a nice sight; even Scooby had gotten tired of updating his sniffing index to look forward to some time in the park. The park was broken into sections all covered in pathways and walkways from one side of the park to the other. Finding a little path, she wanted to find a nice part of the part that was a bit more woods then the open sections but had enough to have Scooby run around.

Settling down upon a fallen tree, she pulled Scooby over to unhook him from the leash. Once free, Scooby dashed abound enjoying the freedom only to return to Velma as soon as he had gotten it out of his system.

"R'ay rith re Relma!"

He bowed his front half down low to the ground as his fuzzy butt wiggled in the air playfully, tail going side to side. It was a typical 'play with me' pose. Velma laughed and fiddled around where she was sitting to find the perfect stick.

"Play with you huh? How about… THIS!"

She stood up enough to chuck the chosen stick across the location she picked. Jumping to his feet, he dashed after the thrown stick.

"Rayy!" Came a joyous howl from the Great Dane. His stride was long and loping, but Velma had threw the stick far enough that he had to run a ways before catching up to the branch to be able to retrieve it back. Which he did and then waited to do it again. Velma wasn't sure why it was so much fun to chase after it time and time again, but then again she didn't understand why it was so much fun to watch Scooby do it over and over again either. She guessed since it never landed in the same spot, and he never brought it back the same way was enough of a difference to make the game take a while to get boring for the both of them.

It was a while before Scooby had gotten tired of the game, at least the version they were playing, so he decided to change the game up. With stick in his mouth, he ran over close enough to be in reach before he danced out of reach again. Velma tried a few times before she forced a sigh out at him and shot him a glare.

"Scoooby…" She drew out his name, as if that was going to make him come any closer.

It was like the Dane's eyes were twinkling, mouth full of the stick. He got into the 'let's play' position again and shook the stick at her.

"Rom r'and ret re!" The dog taunted, wagging his butt and giving her a bark through the stick in his mouth. He was careful enough to be able to bark and not drop the stick. Velma was fast enough, he knew that he wasn't going to have enough time to get the stick and dash away without giving her an opportunity to get him before he wanted the game to end.

"…. I'm coming after you!" Knowing the game he wanted to play, she forfeited being lazy sitting on the fallen log and gave chase. Pushing off the log, she got an impressive dash going as Scooby made a b-line out of the way and off running. "Com'ere! You mangy mutt!" Scooby laughed, looking over his shoulder at her chasing behind him.

Not looking where he was going, Scooby tripped over his own big paws and fell into a tumble. Velma had to skid to stop in time from ending up on top of the heap of paws and legs flailing about as Scooby tried to get up. With a thud, all limbs managed to find footing, though before he was able to get to his feet to run again, Velma had pounced upon the Dane. Grabbing the stick on either side of his mouth, she was trying to wrestle the stick away from him. One of the reasons she had picked a slightly move covered area, she didn't have to feel self conscious as she tackled the dog to the ground and covered her sweats in grass stains.

"Gimmie!" Velma growled playfully at the Dane, tugging at the stick in his mouth. His eyes looked playfully back at her as he resisted.

"Ro! R'y rick!"

The battled lasted a while, the sticks possession going back and forth before they both collapsed laughing in an exhausted heap. Velma fixed her slight askew glassed upon her nose better, having been bopped out of alignment as she had fought. Scooby gave her an affectionate slurp against her cheek, happy he had gotten someone to come and play with him. And Velma was always fun, since she fought back. It usually took a lot more to get Daphne or Fred to join him in getting dirty and rolling around in the grass. Shaggy was easy, but sometimes when it was too easy it was less fun, that's why Velma was so much fun to play with.

Lying upon Scooby for a while, Velma found herself relaxed and looking up at the canopy of the trees around her. The sunlight dancing through it as the wind played around, moving the branches to and fro. She was slipping into the comfort of the moment before it got broken for the second time today.

"Hey!" Came a shout from the cement pathway. Looking up and over at the commotion, Velma noticed a bunch of young boys, about middle school ages, were skateboarding along the walk. Though the call came from behind them and belonged to a rather tired and beaten up little girl. She seemed younger then them, and looked as if she had some trouble skateboarding to keep up. Her elbows and knee's had been cut up and bruised and her clothing looked dirty from the ground. The boys stopped, most had unhappy looks upon their face as the looked behind them as the struggling girl. One boy turned to another and nudged him.

"Come on… Let's just ditch her. So she's your sister, it doesn't matter unless she can keep up man. But just look at her, she'll never be able to keep up with us boys. She's a girl."

Velma watched, though her eyes narrowed. She never liked the idea that a girl couldn't do something just because her gender. And having skateboarded before, she knew that, that statement was a lie. Though she hadn't moved yet off of Scooby, who was now also watching the commotion over her head. The boy that seemed to be the brother of the girl stopped as the rest of the guys kept going. He flinched as she came to a rather messy stop, meeting the cement. Turning his back to her, the look of pain and conflict was upon his face. He didn't seem to like the fact she was getting hurt, or the fact that he was about to say this.

"… Marcie… If you can't keep up, go home. Yeah. Maybe it's better for you to go home."

He didn't look back when he left. The girl Marcie watched from the ground as he left, tears being fought back. For a second she seemed to have given up before pounding the ground once and dragging herself to her feet. Getting her board, she placed the board on the cement again and steadied a foot upon it. Her hands were shaking, but clenched in determination. Pushing off, she moved a bit on the board before slipping again. She met the ground hard.

Velma turned away from the girl, not able to watch it. She didn't want to watch the girl struggle and hurt herself. Looking away, she wasn't able to open her eyes until something hit her shoulder. Looking up, she opened her eyes to see Scooby looking unhappily over at her. Gripping the back of her shirt, he pulled Velma to a sitting position before butting his head at her.

"Ret r'up r'and relp!" Growled Scooby. Hitting her more on the back to urge her to get moving already. "…R'ou r'anna relp. R'o relp!"

She did want to help. But something had indicial held her back. Maybe it was the fact that she remembered how it was to start off and not get anywhere. Or maybe it was the fact she saw that there was some peer pressure to do it. That had not made the girl stop trying any less. If anything it was one of the things that kept her from dragging herself to her feet as she hit the ground hard again. Throwing herself to her feet, she tried again. She was getting somewhere, but it was slow. Pushing off, she traveled a bit but the slight change in the cement due to the uneven ground, made the edge of the cement hit the board and throw her off yet again. She braced to hit the ground but she never hit it. Instead it was like someone had caught her. Looking up, she noticed the smiling grin of a older woman, who had moved out of no where and caught her. Velma set the girl upright before she let go and took a step back. The younger girl in front of her blushed, and stuttered a thanks, Velma smiled down at her.

"Your welcome. My name is Velma, what's yours?"

Velma leaned forward, hands upon her knees to not seem as tall and imposing. Though she was shorter then most people her own age, to a younger girl, especially Marcie, she seemed tall. She had overheard the girl's name, but she wanted to make an introduction anyway. Not to seem like some random stranger. The girl looked up at Velma and replied shyly.

"…Marcie… My name is Marcie."

"Well Marcie, it looks like your having a bit of trouble riding that skateboard." Velma looked over at the board. It looked like your normal skateboard.

Marcie looked over at the board and got a hurt look. "…I want to ride it."

Velma looked over at Marcie and nodded. "Well, why aren't you wearing any safety gear? Like elbow pads and kneepads. They help a lot when you're learning." Velma had loved her helmet and pads, they had saved her many scrape and scratches when she was learning.

"… They are dorky." Came a murmered response to Velma.

"…And who might have said that?" Velma had a pretty good idea, but she wanted the girl to tell her in her own words. It was easier to talk to a younger kid when they did most of the talking.

"…The boys… I want to keep up with my brother and his friends but they say that kneepads and those are dorky."

"So… Hurting yourself is better?" Velma asked. Not looking at the injuries on the younger girl happily. They looked pretty bad.

"…N..No… But." Marcie tried to protest. But as she moved, her joints reminded her of their condition and she cut herself off.

"…We should take care of that." Velma wished she had something to help. Normally she had a small fist aid kit with her stuff, but in the rush she hadn't taken anything. Marcie moved, pulling her small backpack off her back and she dug out a few things. Tossing the set of pink kneepads and elbow pads, Velma noticed why the guys wouldn't want her around them and wearing those. But what Marcie was searching for was exactly what Velma was looking for. She had a small first aid kit.

"…Mom packed it for me." Marcie held up the small kit. Velma smiled.

"Your mother is a smart woman." Leaning down, Velma sat besides Marcie and opened up the offered first aid kit. The younger girl also produced a small water bottle.

"You have to take care of yourself. Especially when skateboarding. If you hurt yourself then you can't use the board as well as you might be able to." Velma told her as she looked through the kit and took out the necessary things to help Marcie. Some gauze, some anti-bacterial cream and Band-Aids. Cute one's too, with little butterflies on it.

"Really?" Marcie wondered. It had been harder when she had hurt her knees and elbows to move on the board. Maybe there was something to what the older woman was saying. She didn't seem to be a bad person.

"Yep. I was skateboarding when I was young age, though it's been a while since I rode on mine." Velma felt nostalgic when she thought about it. Her board had been gathering dust for a while now in the garage. Maybe it was time to bring it out again. Looking over at Marcie, she knew she wanted to take care of those cuts.

"…Marcie. Do you mind if I take care of your knees and elbows? It might hurt though, but it's not good to let those stay dirty like that. What do you say?" She knew that it was hard for young kids to trust people, and there were many people who someone her age should not talk to. But Velma wasn't going to be happy to just leave her like that. It could get infected if she didn't take care of it. It looked as if it was ignored longer then she should have already. Marcie looked pensive. Her mom and dad told her to be careful of strangers. But the woman was asking her what she thought. Would a person bad ask what she thought? She wasn't sure but the cuts had begun to get really bad.

"..O..Ok. I can handle it." She said with gritted teeth, offering her arm to Velma.

Velma's face softened, the younger girl was trying so hard to be strong. Taking the arm in the lightest grip she could, she brought the girl closer. Taking some of the gauze, she took some water and put it on it. Then carefully not to hurt the younger girl, she started to wipe the dirt out of the wound on her elbow. Marcie flinched, her teeth coming down on her lip biting back the pain. Though once washed off, it didn't look as bad as she thought. It was a lot of dirt and less injury. One butterfly band-aid with anti-bacterial cream covered that, and then Velma moved to the next arm. Marcie looked over at the finished arm and bent it. It felt better not all gritty with the dirt, but the water and cream had stung. Though Marcie made a face at the butterflies.

"…Does it really have to look… so… girly?" Marcie said with distaste. Apparently the guys had probably thought negative of girly things enough to affect her thinking. Velma thought about it and then picked up on of the band-aids.

"But I think it looks nice. The butterfly is such a fascinating creature. Some can travels from Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico for the wintertime only to return back for spring. One type of butterfly has been recorded to exist on every continent except Antarctica. They even were depicted on the walls of Ancient Egypt pictures in Thebes, over 3500 years ago." Velma informed Marcie as she looked over the butterfly band-aid. The butterfly was a remarkable and resilient creature. Marcie looked surprised. She never knew that they were anything more then a pretty insect.

"Well… ok." Marcie let Velma work, finishing up on the other arms and doing both knees. It seemed that they were the only things that took any damage. Once done, Velma collected all the garbage and since there was no place near to throw them out, she put it in her pocket.

"All right, you look all set. I think maybe for now, the best idea is for you to head home and rest up before you try anything again." Velma stated, not wanting Marcie to hurt herself more in this condition. Marcia stood up and looked indignant.

"…I'm not going to stop!" She said angrily. Velma stood up and dusted off her pants.

"I didn't say stop. I said for now it's best to rest. Wait till your cuts get better then try again. I'll even help if you want." Velma suggested. Marcie looked at the older girl suspiciously. She skateboarded? She didn't look like it.

Velma knew that look. So, to prove it, she picked up Marcie's skateboard. It was a bit smaller then she was used to, but it would do. Checking the wheels for their status, she found it good enough for now. Jumping forward, she leaned down into the ground to catch herself on the board, riding low and using the momentum of the jump to push her forward. Marcie watched in awe as Velma propelled herself forward on the board and down the small hill that she had fallen before getting to. Leaning back, Velma popped the front up to skid a bit in that position, before rotating a full three hundred sixty degree turn to face away. Kicking up, Velma launched herself from the leaned back position. She pushed off and up creating the jump off the back foot and slid her front foot further up the board to flatten out the board in mid jump, so she landed pretty flat. Popping another wheelie, she spun to face Marcie up hill and grinned up at her, Feeling the rush come back from the short but fun ride. Simple yet it looked impressive out of nowhere. How she missed skateboarding. Kicking the board up, Velma grabbed the board and walked up the hill to give the board back to the stunned Marcie.

"…How about next weekend, I'll meet you here and we'll start on the basics and once you're ready I'll teach you enough tricks to keep up with the boys." Velma offered, though added in hindsight. "Only if your mom say's it's ok."

"Yeah!" Marcie said excitedly, finally shaking herself out of the shock of Velma's performance. It was even better then watching her bother and his friends. They were still learning but they looked impressive enough. But this lady knew what she was doing. Velma grinned.

"Ok, so until then, take care of yourself and bring your pads." Velma pointed at the pads. Marcie looked over at them before picking them up. She looked up at Velma, and decided that she would bring them but hoped to not have to use them unless she had to. She would agree to anything to be taught.

"…Ok. Thank you miss Velma. I'll meet you back here. You better show up!" Marcie pouted. Velma nodded and grinned.

"Sure. Next weekend. But go home and rest and don't tell your brother. So we can show off once your ready!" Velma nodded and Marcie grinned.

"Bye bye!" Marcie said calling back to Velma as she ran off. Board under her arm and her backpack repacked. Velma sighed, just realizing what she had promised. She hoped that nothing came up that would prevent her from showing up. Looking back, she looked to where she had left Scooby. The Dane had been watching for a while before he got bored and fell asleep in the grass… Belly to the sky a tongue hanging out. Velma had to laugh, wandering over she woke the sleeping Dane up.

"Come on Scooby let's go home for now. I have a lot of practicing to do." The sleepy dog gave her and look, he didn't even fight back against her clipping the leash to him. Home sounded good.


	2. Motherly interference

_Originally I was just going to start the training, but since Marcie was younger, I felt this was needed. So, it might be a bit boring, my appologies to those bored. Toki  
_

* * *

The time came all the quickly, though thankfully Velma had no mystery plans to get in the way of her appointment. She would feel bad, if the girl showed up, that she couldn't make it. So she made sure she got up early to get her things ready. 

First of all was clothing. On first impulse, Velma wanted to bring her usual skirt and sweater combo. It wasn't all that hot out, but then again she never needed it to be chilly to wear her favorite outfit. But, in the end she didn't want to possibly rip it, since she was rusty with being on a skateboard. So, she opted for something a bit more sensible. It was a outfit she used for work in the garden, painting something and what ever else might get her dirty enough for her not to use everyday wear. It had been a while since she last wore her overalls. A deep maroon, it was darker on the knees due to Velma's gardening time, and bits of various paint colors were here and there that didn't come out in the wash. She pulled out an equally paint splattered orange short sleeve shirt and clipped the overalls at her shoulders. Giving a quick stretch, she saw that it still gave her enough mobility to do the tricks she wanted to do. Taking the shopping bag from the side of her door, she moved to get on her way.

With a quick made sandwich hanging half out of her mouth, Velma pulled on her sneakers. As much as she loved her normal shoes, she remembered how nicely the sneakers had gripped the skateboard when she was showing off to Marcie. That and Daphne might comment that those shoes didn't match the rest of her outfit, so it was better for the sneakers any way. One quick toe tap of each sneaker proved they were on right, and Velma headed out the door. Though not before grabbing her backpack from the front closet.

Bags in hand, she traveled along the side of the house to where the garage was. She heaved on the door, gaining access to the garage. With a wave of her hand, she coughed as the dust was kicked up from the door being opened. Putting the bags to the side, she ventured into the musty garage. For belonging to four different people, it sure showed it with the various junks that were littered about. It took her a bit to pull out her old skateboard from under all the mess and clutter. With more dust induced coughing, she walked out of the garage with her prize in hand. It… was smaller then she remembered, but it had been a while that she had used it. Nostalgic fingers ran down the length of the board and lingered a bit on a few of the holes that had been put into it. She recalled that she had to remove the motor off of it, as one day the motor blew due to stress on it. As they were getting older and bigger, the poor motor couldn't keep up and finally broke.

With a quick look over, she moved to where the bags were. Putting the board aside, she removed the contents of the shopping bag. Having grown some, she wasn't able to fit into her old protective gear, so she had to get some new one's, that Daphne HAD to help her go get. Any reason to go shopping, she figured with an amused grin. It wasn't a bad choice, and the red somewhat matched her overalls. Matching knee and elbow pads came with it, since she wanted to encourage Marcie to wear hers, even though she didn't need it herself. Putting them all into her other backpack, Velma realized the bag wasn't empty. Puzzled, she reached in and pulled out a pair of red leather gloves. They covered the hand, then flared out a bit for the cuff. Velma smiled.

"It must have been a present from Daphne, remembering that I always wore my gloves when riding my board." She put on the gloves and wasn't to surprised at how well it fit. With a few experimental flexing of the fingers, confirmed that sometimes Daphne was scarily correct with clothing sizes. More then one person should be. With an amused grin, she zipped up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, she then grabbed the skateboard and headed off to the park. She had an appointment to keep.

---------------

Velma was early. Which was good since she wanted to get mentally ready before Marcie showed up. Putting her gear by the log she had sat on a week before, she moved to the ground to stretch. She wanted to make sure she wasn't going to hurt herself today, and was going to make sure Marcie wasn't going to either.

A minute or so went by as she stretched before Velma heard footsteps on the cement pathway coming her way. The location wasn't exactly hidden in the park, just a bit out of the way, so anyone heading through was most likely passing by. Turning her head, she noticed that this wasn't going to be the case as she moved to stand. Coming towards her, was Marcie, and what seemed to be her mother. With Marcie's hand held, a determined look was on the woman's face, though it seemed to soften a bit when she saw Velma standing there.

"…You are the person my daughter was planning on meeting?" The woman said when she was close enough to hold a civil conversation without having to yell to be heard, but far enough to have enough distance to get her daughter to safety if Velma turned out to be a scary person. Though, Velma didn't look like it, which made her all the more suspicious.

Velma put two and two together and understood what must have happened. Marcie had to tell her mother where she was going. She put on her sincerest smiles and spoke softly to the woman.

"Yes. I was here about a week ago and noticed your daughter was having a hard time keeping up with her brother. She seemed determined enough to learn wither I was going to help her or not, I just thought maybe if I taught her a bit, she would learn a bit easier and hurt herself less."

"…So it was you who was the one who put the Band-Aids on my daughter?" The woman's eyes narrowed. Not yet convinced Velma had good intentions. She watched her for lying.

"Yes." Velma said without hesitation the woman was looking for. "Your daughter was falling often, and her knee's looked pretty bad. I couldn't sit there and watch without helping. I did not mean to overstep my bounds but I couldn't sit by and what her hurt herself like that and not help her." Velma paused, then extended her hand. "My apologies. I have yet not introduced myself, my name is Velma Dinkley."

The woman's eyes grew a bit, recognizing the name. "Your Marilyn's daughter?" She looked Velma up and down, now realizing why the girl had looked so familiar.

"Yes. You know my mother?" Velma wondered. Her mother knew a lot of people, not all of them she knew herself. But the town was relatively small and most people know of each other, if they didn't actually know the person.

"We have spent some time together in the parlor, yes. So you were going to teach Marcie?" The older woman relaxed. She now knew who she was, Marilyn's daughter, and one of those kids who always solve all those mysteries on TV. Though she oddly didn't look like such a famous person, she thought, as she looked Velma over.

Velma felt a bit embarrassed for being in her painting gear, and missed her normal clothing, but she didn't let Marcie's mom know that. "Yes. She seemed to want to keep up with her brother and his friends, but learning how to skateboard isn't easy. I know myself since I learned when I was younger then Marcie. Also, I noticed that she isn't going to give up wither I help or not. But at least if I do help, she'll learn faster, and hurt herself less. I'm big with safety and protection, and I hope she won't come home with to many bruises like before."

The older Woman looked down at her daughter with a slight frown. She didn't like cleaning up the cuts from her trying to follow her brother places. And she already tried to prevent Marcie from learning but she was stubborn like her father and didn't listen to her. Marcie looked up at her mother in excitement and hope. She really wanted to learn and show her stupid brother that she could do it too. But she had to get her mothers approval to be with Velma to train.

"Can I mom? Please?" She used _the_ word. She was desperate."…You seem to know her mom, will you let me stay and learn? Come on…"

She was pulling out all the stops, adding in the 'cute little kid, batting innocent eyelashes look' It was worse then the sad puppy eyed look, a move that only little kids could use successfully against their parents. Deadly and unfair move, at least Velma thought so. The mother was having a hard time holding up against it. She struggled against it for a short bit, earning Velma's respect for even lasting that long, and then gave in.

"… All right! All right. I give. Put that face away."

The mother shook her head at her daughter, pushing her a bit away from her at arms length to release her. She had been protectively gripping her to her side, and seeing and now knowing who she was going to be with, she felt comfortable enough to let her daughter be taught. She could always after a while to tell her daughter no, if she was coming back hurt again. But, for now she would let Velma teach her skateboarding, giving her a chance before she did anything else. It was better then seeing her daughter come home hurt.

"Please don't tell your son about this." Velma politely asked the older woman.

"Marcie is trying to learn in secret and it would be hard if her brother knows. Also, would it be ok with you if she came to my house to learn? I don't mind using here but it's harder, since he and his friends skate through here. It would be harder to keep it from them if they can pass by. I can give you the address, or even if you want we can walk there now if it will make you feel better."

Velma wanted to assure the mother as much as possible. She had no mal intent and wanted to make sure Marcie and her mom knew that. Marcie's mom considered it. It was easy to get here, and she knew her son and his friends came to the park often to skate. It was one of the few places the parent's let the kids go to, to skate. She understood the reasoning, and was actually a bit pleased that Velma was offering to even show her where Marcie would be if she wanted to. Marilyn had a lot of good reason's to brag about her child and she was beginning to understand why. She was a polite and considerate woman.

"That sounds fine, but I don't have to see it. As long as I have the phone number and address I'll be ok."

She said as she ruffled Marcie's hair. Velma was more then ready to provide the information. Moving to her bag, she took out a note pad and scribbled down the information. Standing back up, she handed the paper off to Marcie's mom.

"This is the address. It also has the house phone, my cell phone. And those names are the rest of the people who live in the house. Shaggy, Daphne and Fred."

"Oh! Mystery Inc!"

She said recognizing the names, but only after looking at all of them together and the name of their dog, Scooby. It's a bit hard to forget the hound once you saw him on TV. Velma laughed. She never expected people to recall her name for one of the members, since it happened very often, but she didn't mind too much. It amused her when people realized she was famous.

"Yes, well they might answer the phone." Velma told her, just in case she would call and find out one of them would answer instead. Not a bad thing, but best warn her.

"Oh… Oh… Well ok. Thank you! Thank you for helping my daughter. Oh, I know someone famous. Someone famous is teaching my daughter. Oh wait till the girls at the parlor hear about this." The mother walked off out of the park, clinging to the paper like it was something special. Velma sighed, though a bit amused at the sudden reaction. Marcie wandered over to Velma, watching her mother with the most confused look on her face.

"Um… Velma?" She asked as she peered off at the woman practically dancing.

"Yeah Marcie?" Velma looked down at the young girl, wondering what was wondering, probably about her mom's reaction.

"… How did you make my mom react like that? I've never seen her like that at all." Marcie said confused. Though it looked funny as her mom was dancing off.

"…Well, I think I was just myself really." Velma responded innocently. "Come on, let's go to my house and practice so your brother doesn't find us."

Velma said as she picked up her gear and tucked her green and orange flowered skateboard under her arm. She waved for Marcie to follow her. Marcie was all to willing to trot off after the woman to learn in a more private place, looking forward to learn to be able to show off to her big brother. She trailed after Velma for a bit before she looked up at her.

"So your famous…?"

"Yep."

"Cool." Marcie said with a grin. Though not fully understanding why or how Velma was famous. But it was cool nonetheless.


	3. Gear Up

It was a short walk from the park to reach where the Gang lived. Velma paced herself so the shorter legged Marcie could keep up with her longer paces. It felt a bit funny to Velma that for once she was the taller one, since it didn't happen to often. She was more used to having to walk faster to keep up. But ever with the self conscious Velma trying to pace herself, Marcie was struggling a bit. She didn't want to show it though, since she wanted to impress Velma as much as she could.

When they reached the house, Marcie was surprised at its size and how simple it looked. Not that she had though Velma would live in something bad, but being famous people were usually flashier about it.

The house she was looking at looked rather plain, and normal. It was a three-story house, painted a light blue color. The side paneling was all wood, and the roof was shingled. The large lawn was split down the middle by the stone walk, made up of embedded stepping-stones that reached the front. Wrapping around most of the front and part of the left side of the house, was a white painted porch. It had a railing that followed with it and at the end of the left side was a hanging swing. It had room enough for two people, and it looked well used. The cushions were indented from where people had sat over many summers of reading, lemonade drinking and stargazing. The front of the house was dominated by two long bow windows. Between the two windows was a pair of plastic lawn chairs and a short table for putting things on. Also wrapping the length of the house was a small, cute flower garden. Colorful flowers and bits of shrubbery made it up to give color to the house. Along the side of the house was a rather long driveway, with a fence on one side to separate it from the neighbors. The driveway could fit about three vans comfortably before ending at a double-doored garage.

Velma watched as Marcie took in the house. Giving it a look herself, she remembered the long days it had taken her and the gang to repair and update the house to code. Not that Miss Snowlark had taken poor care of the house, but as she got older, it became harder to maintain the outside as much as she did the inside. Once Marcie had gotten a good enough look around, Velma moved towards the backyard, waving for her to follow.

Come on, we will start in the backyard.

Shaking her head, Marcie pulled herself away from looking at the house. Trotting to catch up, she followed after Velma towards the backyard. She fought back the glee that had finally caught up to her, being able to finally learn how to skateboard and then show those stupid boys that a girl like her could learn too! And from what little Marcie had seen of Velma, she reallt knew what she was doing. Marcie bet that the woman could show her all these cool tricks to show off to her brother and his snotty friends. This was going to be GREAT! Or so she thought.

So! So! What do we do first? Chirped Marcie as she clutched her skateboard to herself cheerfully.

Well first, I want us to stretch out. Velma said as she put her board off to the side and sat on the grass in the back yard. An awwwww came from Marcie as she crossed her arms in grumpiness.

I thought we were going to learn skateboarding, not PE class. She pouted. All of her grand dreams dissolving into just another phys ed class.

Well, stretching is important. Velma commented. At times the board might slide out from under you and a foot might get stuck on it and follow. Would you want to pull your hip and not be able to ride because you didn t stretch out before? Stretching helps prevent accidents. If your body is all loose and ready for an activity, you tend to get hurt less. Stretching might have saved her and the gang a few injuries on the go. But then again, it s a bit hard to ask the monster to wait while you stretched before a chase scene.

With a sigh, Marcie sat down and copied the stretching Velma had started to do. She didn t fully get why she should be doing it, but the sooner they did it, the sooner she would be able to ride. Though, a few times when she had tried to learn she had experienced a hurt leg or two. Maybe the stretching might help. Though she was hoping Velma would teach her to ride, since if she was able to ride well, then she wouldn t even have to worry about falling and getting hurt.

Velma put Marcie through a few stretches before she felt the girl was ok enough to get on the board. All right, that s enough for now.

Marcie was more then ready to stop, itching to get on the board. She let out a groan as she watched Velma pull out a helmet and other protective gear. Velma looked over as Marcie groaned, and she shook her head.

I know you don t seem to like protective gear. But it s really important. Your skating career could be cut short if you end up getting hurt. So protecting yourself is important. Velma tried to emphasis. She loved her gear, since it had saved her on a few occasions from getting really hurt. And she had seen one to many people get hurt without it. Looking over at Marcie she made motions for her to get out her gear. Grudgingly, Marcie complied and pulled out her gear from her backpack. She looked at the gear with distaste and then back up to the urging Velma. Well, Velma was wearing hers, so she looked dorkier then Marcie would, since Velma is an adult and still wearing the knee and elbow pads. Marcie just hoped no one would be watching them from the backyard.

Marcie s fears would come true, since a set of eyes had locked on the two of them. Watching carefully at what was unfolding in the backyard.

Ok, so we stretched and got our gear on. Now, take your board and place it on the grass here. Velma said pointing to the grass in front of her. Marcie yipped a hooray since she was finally going to learn something on the skateboard. Though she wondered why she wanted it on the grass, she didn t question it since she was going to actually learn something. Placing the board in front of Velma, Marcie looked up at the older woman and waited for her next instructions, though she wanted to just jump on the board and skate.

With an approving nod, Velma waved at the board.

All right, hop on it and try to stay on. Find a comfortable spot on the board and feel it out. Rock yourself back and forth and keep on the board. You need to get used to your board and have a feel for all of its quirks. Shift to the middle, to the front and back. Get a good idea of all the aspects of the skateboard. The more you know and the more comfortable you are with your board the better.

Marcie looked at Velma oddly, but then shrugged. Hopping on the board, she noticed right away it wasn t as solid as she thought it might. The slight sinking in the grass and the natural movement of the board almost made her fall off. A flail motion of her arms had righted herself from falling off. She did as she was told, shifting and getting a feel for the board, a bit of arm waving kept her on. While Marcie did this, Velma circled the young girl. Her form wasn t bad for someone starting out, but there was a lot of different with a stationary board and a moving one. But knowing your skateboard was important.

Setting up her board, Velma moved close to Marcie. The younger girl eyed her as she got on her board and wobbled a bit. It had been a long time since she had been on her own board so she was a bit rusty. The eager young girl watched as Velma did similar to herself and moved about the board. It was obvious after a minute that Velma wasn't as rusty as she thought.

"Alright, now the next lesson is really important, fall forward off the board." The girl looked sceptically up at Velma as she nodded towards her. Shrugging her shoulders, she fell forward off the board and caught herself by her hands. Marcie winced a bit as she hit the ground, but ignored it.

"Now while that kind of landing seems to make sense. It's not really good to land like that when you are on a skateboard. When you are traveling at a fast speed, if you land like that you can hurt your wrists. There are gloves that have a metal brace that can take the impact. The best thing is to catch your self with your knees or elbows. The pads are there for protection from impacts. If you continue to catch yourself with your hands, you will most likely break your wrists. And trust me it s not a fun thing to go through.

Velma had it happen, though not from skateboarding, but it wasn t pleasant either way. Marcie s expression faded a bit on its intensity at Velma. Her wrists did hurt a bit from the sudden stop. And that was standing still, so she figured that it would hurt a lot more moving. With a brow furrowed, she understood Velma s meaning. Velma smiled and showed her how to land, moving forward and using her body to roll from her knee pads to her side and then into an elbow.

Marcie nodded as she watch Velma do it. She had seen some of the boys do that as well, but she never really understood why they were. She just thought it looked silly. Velma walked over as Marcie unconsciously rubbed her wrists. Gently, Velma went down on her knees and pulled one of Marcie's wrists towards her. On one side was a fading mark of a bruise, most likely from what she was just explaining about. Marcie looked down at her confused. Standing up, Velma guided Marcie to sit down on her board and then pulled her own closer.

"I know you are not interested in the helmets and pads. But you need to make sure you take care of yourself."

Marcie hmphed and turned away again, but eventually looked back at the staring Velma, who had not look away. She was serious.

"I know you really want to show off to your brother, but you want to be in one piece as well. The knee pads save your knees, preventing the cement from cutting them up and making bruises, same for the elbow pads." As Velma spoke, she tapped the gear she was speaking of. Trying to get the importance of safety to the younger girl. "If your head gets hurt, that can end up really bad. Safety is not a stupid idea. I know the boys think they are so cool copying the guys on the TV or video games that have no padding, but if you look at the official competitions they are all wearing pads. From Skateboarding to the fancy BMX bike tricks. The professionals even use them."

Marcie's expression softened, but then as she looked down at her gear, it went sour again.

"But... But they look so ugly..."

Velma opened her mouth but didn't get the chance to say anything when the pair of eyes that had been watching, came out into the open and revealed themselves.

"We can fix that."

"Oh no..." Velma groaned. The voice alone was enough to tell her who had been spying.

Marcie looked up in awe as the prettiest lady she had ever seen seemed to float into the backyard. She gracefully flowed into the yard and came over to stand behind the sitting Velma. It looked like so much of a contrast between Velma and this new woman. While Velma was dressed simple, in red, and in dorky protective gear. The woman standing above her seemed classy and more noble looking. Like a princess. Dressed in Purple and green, and looking cleaner against the paint splatter that Velma had been wearing.

Leaning her head back, Velma looked up and saw what she was expecting. Daphne. And the smile on her face ment she was up to no good.

"I don't like that grin. What are you thinking Blake?" Velma said flatly, as Marcie was still in awe. Daphne just smiled sweetly down at Velma.

"Oh, the usual. If she doesn't like the gear, we just have to find some that fit her. Pink is not her color anyway."

"Yes! Someone who understands!" Marcie finally chirped in, immediately liking the new woman. Velma drooped her head and placed a palm against her forehead with a groan, knowing what was coming next.

"... Shopping?"

"But of course!" 


	4. Traveling to

Without the chance to change, Velma was dragged with Daphne and Marcie into the car. At least there, she was able to take off her gear and watch as Daphne took her student away from her for a bit. The overwhelming power of shopping was a force not to be messed with. She knew the call, but had become strong willed to fight against it over the years; being not a traditional girl growing up. Well, she loved shopping, but she usually ended up buying more science-y things then clothing. The only clothes she needed were functional ones.

But Daphne and Marcie were prone to it, and seemed to be getting along rather well as Daphne drove her car to... Where ever they were going?

At first Velma thought they were going to be hitting up the mall, where she and Daphne had gone earlier, but the Mall was in a different direction. So Velma just had to sit back and wait till they got there. It at least gave her time to collect her thoughts and figure how to continue teaching Marcie. Daphne might be useful, as if Marcie thought her protective gear looked cool, she would wear them more. But how to get her to have the patience to take it slow to learn, was the topic on Velma's mind.

Leaning against the window, Velma let the wind take away her thoughts as she relaxed. It wasn't worth stressing that much about, and she should just calm down and take it one thing at a time. She would worry once they got home and back into it.

It had been a while since she rode in Daphne's car, let alone in the back seat of the car. The inside of the car was done up in lavender, to match the darker purple that adorned the outside. Out of all of the gang, Daphne used her own car the most. Velma had a car, but it was staying at her parents house, since she didn't use it all that often. Better to have her parent's use it then waste it at the house. Then again, they rarely went anywhere without the rest of the gang and the Van for traveling. The Van was part of the family and had been there for them for years. (Sure it broke down at times, but usually it tended to lead them to some adventure or mystery.) It would be weird letting it sit at home if they took another car. That and after a few times it had come to life, it was better to not anger it by making it jealous. But, with the guys out riding, they didn't have the van to use and Daphne's car was the next best thing.

Looking over, it seemed that Marcie was chattering without breath to Daphne. Daphne was thankfully used to small kids and seemed to just let Marcie talk and answer when needed. Part of Velma was envious of Daphne, for being able to relate to Marcie so well, but part of it was just the skill for talking. Velma liked talking. But usually her vocabulary confused people her own age or even older, so talking to a younger people tended to be hard. She was trying not to over talk in technical speak with Marcie, that it might confuse the poor girl. Sure, it was fun to confuse her friends on occasion, but talking that way to someone who wouldn't understand, served no purpose except to probably cause frustration. And that was the last thing she wanted.

"You know, back when Velma was your age, she was an amazing Skateborder. She used to carry the whole gang when we were kids on her board. Guys and all! They didn't even really know how to ride! And she even had a motor attached to it." Finally focusing on the conversation, Velma's eyes went wide at the current topic. Not exactly what she wanted to share with the younger girl. She had been young and reckless. Attaching a motor was something that required enough technical skill and knowledge and it was still something that caused many a tumble and accident. Not something she wanted to recommend to Marcie.

"COOL!" Flinching as Marcie seemed to be captivated, she stepped in quickly.

"Yes, well it was rather neat. But it's not something you want to go and be doing on your own skateboard." Velma added in, hoping to not have already planted ideas in Marcie's mind. Learning to skateboard normally was tough enough, once you break over thirty miles per hour, then it becomes a whole new ball game. That and it usually required lots of band aids.

"Awwwww..." Marcie grumbled, but from what Velma had seen, she was probably not a mechanically inclined student anyway at her age. Velma knew she had been a weird child, and preferred to not encourage others in those odder directions. Some things were better left to the professionals.

"Yeah, well you should have seen her as she was attaching that thing on her board. Covered in oil and exhaust smoke. It was a fashion nightmare!" Daphne responded laughing, though shooting a look through the rear view mirror. Velma knew that look in her eyes. Daphne really didn't intend to be mean in what she was saying, but instead was trying to steer Marcie away from the idea. Smiling, Velma shook her head to answer Daphne. She wasn't offended. Better to add caution into the girls head any way they could, even at the extent of her own pride... What little she had at times.

"Yeah, I think I smelled like oil for a month. And most of my clothes were so stained that Daphne was in fits for a long time." Velma added. Nothing like deep rooted oil stains to put a cramp in the fashion conscious Daphne. And she had been even worse when she was younger. She had mellowed out in her old(er) age but kept up the appearance on occasion for kicks. And when ever it was useful. Thought it was always fun to poke fun at Daphne when she could get away with it. Daphne rolled her eyes in the rear view mirror, but the grin tugging at the sides of her mouth gave away that she wasn't serious.

"Ewwwwww... Maybe not. I don't want to smell funny. My brother would make fun of me more." Marcie dismissed the idea, finally to the relief to the other two women. She made a sour face at the idea, obviously picturing herself in Velma's younger days.

"So you want to learn to skateboard to show off to your brother?" Daphne asked, shooting a questioning eyebrow in Velma's direction. Velma nodded as Marcie responded to the question.

"Yeah. My big brother and his friends don't think I can learn. They say it's a boys thing! That no girl should do what it made for a boy. I don't believe that!" She grumbled, crossing her arms in defiance. Daphne nodded.

"There is not much in this world that can't be done by either girls, or boys. Sure, they can be better at things, but so can we. But nothing really is only for guys except a few things that is better for them to handle. Military issues aside, but that's not the issue here. Girls can learn to skateboard just as well as the guys, if not better. They have even said that women have better balance then men." Daphne added the last little tidbit in hopes of bringing up Marcie's spirits.

"Yeah, I still need to grow up a bit more before I think my balance catches up to me. I keep wobbling on the board." Marcie said with a huff. Why was it so hard? Why couldn't she just pick it up really easily? Then again, if it was easy, then anyone could do it and the boys wouldn't pick on her so much.

"Well, anything worth doing takes patience and practice." Velma commented from the back seat. She knew that all to well with the million and one things she had learned over the course of her life. And there were many things she still didn't know yet, but planned to learn in the future when she could. It was never to late to learn something.

"We're here!" Daphne interrupted and announced as they pulled into the small parking lot that sat next to the store they were apparently going too. It was a little looking building, with not much cluttering the outside to tell what was exactly inside. The only thing was a small sign that sat behind the window. 'Carlie's Skate Shop' read the little sign. Trying to steer the conversation back to positive things, Daphne cut in before Velma could continue. There was a time for life lessons, but doing to much at once for a young girl might be over doing it. That and it was now shopping time!

"Carlie's Skate Shop? I never knew this was here..." Velma looked over at the small shop. Had Daphne not pulled in, she would have missed the sign entirely.

"Yeah, I found out about this place from Ryan a while back. It's run by his aunt, who is also into Skateboarding. She doesn't do it professionally, but she runs the shop and can often be found at the skatepark that is a town over." Daphne added, nodding over towards Velma.

"Ryan? Like skateboard pro, Grind Games 2 Ryan?" Velma asked, trying to recall the kid. They had been invited to the games and as usual had stumbled into a mystery. The San Franpsycho, if she remembered correctly.

"Yeah, he said that he had an aunt living by us. Strange coincidence, eh? We do tend to attract such things, but better for us then! We know the owner well of the owner. Maybe she can set us up with some proper 'duds'." Daphne said with a grin, laying a hand upon the head of Marcie. The young girl grinned ear to ear at the idea of better colored gear.

"Yee haw..." Muttered Velma, shooting Daphne a crooked grin. Trailing after the red head, the brunette took up the back of their odd little train of people. With a jingle of the front door bell, they entered the shop. 


	5. Velma's Dismay

"Welcome to Carlie's Skate Shop! Come on in! I won't bite... Much."

The Skateshop seemed a homely place, and at the center of the shop was Carlie, Ryan's aunt. She was a rather nice looking woman, leaning on the counter as she gazed over at her customers. Her light brown hair, similar to that of her nephew, was tied back in a neat pony tail to keep it out of the way. Having eyed the fact that there was two women and a young girl entering her shop, she opted for a more open and laid back approach.

"Come now. don't be shy. We welcome anyone who is interested in skateboarding, riding skateboarding, heck, even if you just like to look, that's just fine with me. I'm Carlie, owner and head fanatic of the shop. What can I help you with?"

Daphne took an immediate liking to the women. She seemed only a bit older then herself, but had the energy of a little kid. It definitely seemed like she enjoyed her work.

"Hey, they are some fresh blood, don't run them off just yet." A few people were milling about the shop, and one voiced their opinion with a laugh. She turned and cupped her hands over her mouth to shout at the customer who seemed to be further back.

"I'll make sure to keep them away from you George, you bite worse then I do."

"Hi. I'm Daphne, this is Velma and Marcie. We're here to look for a board for my little friend, here. I was wondering if you could help us." Daphne took the first step forward and extended her hand to the energetic shop owner. With a bounce, the lady flipped herself up and over the counter with athletic agility and grace to land in front of Daphne to take her hand.

"Always glad to help someone out, especially a young little learner with anything. What you ladies need for today?"

She shook Daphne's hand with enthusiasm before turning to Marcie. She placed a hand upon her head and ruffled her hair a bit, giving the girl a grin. Though Marcie didn't like her hair messed up, the older woman had a presence about her that she didn't mind it as much as she would have with someone different. That and her goofy, positive grin was infectious.

"Ha ha. Ryan was right. You are a fireball." Daphne chuckled, shaking her head. The stories that Ryan had told her over the phone had been accurate so far, and if that was true, she was bound to have a new friend by the time they left. Plus you could never have too many friends. Carlie turned around to look at Daphne, surprised.

"Oh, you guys know little Ryan. The brat. Don't believe anything he tells you..." Bringing up a finger, she rocked it back and forth with a negative indication. "... I'm far worse."

"You can say that again!" Came another voice from inside the shop. Various other people could be heard laughing in response. Carlie just shook her head and gave the group in front of her, an amused sigh.

"My reputation precedes me. What can I help you girls out with?"

"Well, Marcie here needs some new, fashionable, gear." Commented Daphne, placing her hand on Carlie's shoulder before continuing. "It's hard to be shredding it, when you're wearing pink, if you catch my drift."

"Ah, I totally understand. I have several different colors, and styles to choose from. And since you know my little nephew, we can talk about bribes for discounts later." Carlie said with a wink.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something, but I think Velma can take care of Marcie, can't you Velma?" Daphne snaked her arm around Carlie's shoulder as she spoke. Velma had been looking around and listening while Daphne took the lead, but she was snapped out of it as Daphne had made the last comment directed at her.

"Ah, um... Sure. Me and Marcie can start without you." Eyeballing Daphne, she had a bad feeling about something, but she couldn't put her finger on the reason why. Daphne was up to something, but she didn't have enough clues to find out what. Not that the older girl would ever leave any on purpose when she wanted to hide something. But it seemed harmless enough, and she had other things to worry about. Mainly the two, rather large, hopeful eyes that were now locked upon her.

Serving her mother well, Marcie was well behaved in the presence of another, older lady. She was taught to only speak when it was needed, and let adults talk without interruption by young, curious minds. Not that she didn't want to just blurt out the questions that bubbled in her head, but her mother taught her better. But as the buck was passed to Velma to take care of Marcie, it was back to an accepted level of communication and she was open to ask all the questions she wanted. Flipping through all of them in her mind, she tried to sort for the best one to ask first and foremost.

"When do we start!?"

Velma sighed, but she had walked right into it. She couldn't blame Marcie for being excited, and had she not had her own old board, she would have been more curious about the possibilities that hung about the walls around them. But before she could answer, Daphne reappeared and clapped a hand upon Velma's shoulder.

"You... Get a new board too. That old one needs to retire. Tab's on me." And with that, she disappeared into the back with Carlie.

In response, Velma tightened her lips together and hung her head. Part of her wanted to curse her friend for lifting the restrains she had put on herself, so easily with a string of a few words. But, she had learned long ago to not question or fight against Daphne once she had made up her mind about something. Snapping her fingers, she threw out her reservations and looked back up at the slightly confused Marcie. Pointing to where Daphne went, she sighed.

"...She always does that to me."

_Curse the overwhelming power of shopping._ Velma thought to herself.

Turning toward the youth section, Velma let loose one last sigh before she got to work. They had come here for a reason, and she was going to have to do her part.

"Where do we start? Well, since you don't like your pink pads, we'll start by getting some nice ones that fit good. Then we will work on building you a board..."

"But... But... I have a board already." Marcie liked the idea of new gear, in better colors, but she liked her board. She pouting at the idea. Velma knew that look, but she also had a good reason for suggesting it.

"Well, you got that board from your brother, right?" Velma asked simply, offering a palm to the sky as she talked with her hands. Marcie squinted a bit in annoyance, but responded after a bit. Since Velma was just trying to help.

"Yeah, he gave it to me since he was getting to big for it."

"Well, that is good and all, but from what I saw, it was a bit worn for the wear. And what will help you learn to ride better, is a board built just for you. You would be surprised what a few new wheels and a customized deck bottom can do." Marcie's old board was all but falling apart. It was easy to see the wheels were worn from all the practice. If not her brother before he gave it to her, then her trying to practice on it. Also the grip tape was pretty badly worn so that it didn't give enough grip to help keep her feet on the board. So all and all, it was better to make one from scratch. That and Velma remembered when she made her first, though she broke it when she first tried to install a motor to it, she still treasured it since she had made it herself. She hoped that would also help Marcie to keep trying, since skateboarding wasn't as easy as it looked.

"Ok..." Marcie said with a bit of sulk in her voice. "If you say so."

It was good enough. Sometimes it was harder to deal with kids then explaining things to adults. Some things kids just didn't think about yet, but probably better for them in the long run. Plus that was why she was the teacher.

"Alright, let's look for some elbow and knee pads. Let me know which one you like the look of, and I'll tell you if they are ok for what we want."

Her put turned to a giddy grin as she was let loose into the store. She didn't run too far, but she did start looking over all the pads she could get her hands on. And what she couldn't grab, she asked politely if Velma could help her, or to one of the associates that milled about. The workers were more then willing to help the young girl out as Velma wandered a bit to look for herself. She had already gotten new gear with Daphne from the mall, so she didn't need any, but she found herself attracted to a nice maroon set that hung by her.

"How about these!" Chirped Marcie as she rushed over to where Velma was distracted, holding up her prize for inspection. Breaking her stare from the pretty colored gear, she turned back to Marcie. She had to stop herself from snickering, as the gear was way to big for Marcie to wear. Maybe in ten years, but at the moment it was not what she needed.

"Hm..." Taking one of the elbow pads, she played along with Marcie till she realized her mistake. "So this is your helmet?" Placing the rather large elbow pad in her hand, she undid the Velcro straps and placed it upon Marcie's head. The young girl giggled and pushed the elbow pad off of her head.

"No Silly..."

"Ah, then it's a knee pad then." Velma leaned down and got to one knee in front of Marcie. Taking the inside contour of the pad to her knee, she inspected the elbow pad where she was holding it. It was even too big for Marcie to use properly as a knee pad, it was that big compared to what she really needed.

"No." Marcie giggled, slowly getting what Velma trying to tell her.

"Ah! An elbow pad." Taking the pad, she put it in the proper place and put the pad around Marcie's elbow. Even at tightening it as tight as the Velcro would let her, it still didn't sit right. Making an exaggerated gesture, Velma let go and the elbow pad slid down to Marcie's wrist. Finally, she looked over her glasses at the girl.

"Alright. It's too big. But I like the color." Marice pulled the pad off of her wrist and added it to the pile of stuff she had put on a nearby shelf. Velma laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, just find one that is that color, only a wee... bit smaller. A Marcie size." She added with a definitive nod. Marcie shot her a thumbs up, before collecting the pile in her arms and wobbling off to give the items back to one of the workers that helped her. Hopefully, he would help her find one that would fit. Velma would have gone, but it was good for Marcie to pick it without her looming over her. But that didn't mean she wasn't keeping a close watch over the young girl, she still was a kid after all. And there was no way she was going to let her out of her sight and make Marcie's mom angry at her. Not when she knew her mother from the hair parlor. That was too close of a gossip group to mess with, and way too many who were mothers themselves. That was more dangerous then any monster she had ever come across.

"Velma Velma Velma!" Dashing to where Velma was wandering, Marcie held up her latest selection for inspection. Plucking one of the elbow pads, Velma looked it over. The overall color was reddish, coming close to what Marcie already owned, but Velma wouldn't say a word about it. Though it did have a nice marbling effect, adding in some white swirls to the design. Other then the almost pink color, the construction was to her liking. Molding hard plastic was attached to the rest of the pad by strong thread embedded into the base of the elbow pad. It had a mesh surrounded the edging as it wrapped around to the part where it was velcro'ed. A sturdy construction and passed her examination.

"Perfect. Now all we need is a helmet and we'll be ready to start making your board." Giving Marcie a thumbs up, Velma moved to take the lead to where the helmets were. Happy with her selection, Marcie looked forward to having a matching helmet. And the sooner she got it, the sooner she could have her own board... The more she thought about it, the more excited she got. It would be far better then any silly board her brother bought at the local toy store. Anyone could buy a board, she was going to make hers.

It didn't take long before they were digging through the helmets. Velma tried to be patient as the young girl refused all of her suggestions at first. They went back and forth for a while, with the color not matching for Marcie, and the helmet being too big for Velma to like. A helmet had to fit snug and not move around while wearing it. Also Marcie didn't seem to enjoy having the chin strap in place, but Velma wasn't going to have her bumping her head if the helmet fell off due to being too loose. It took a long time, but finally they were able to settled on a helmet. It didn't match the design of the pads, but it was functional and white. White went with everything, or so Velma figured. At least Daphne seemed occupied enough to not have voiced her opinion.

"Veeeeeelllll... maaaa!" _Speak of the devil, herself..._

Trotting over, Daphne was holding a bundle of something in her arms. Coming to where they were, the woman thrust out what she was carrying and showed it off proudly. Leaning forward, curious, Velma gave the objects a look. It seemed to be a set of light purple gear. Though 'thistle' being the actual color, if Velma remembered correctly. She had gotten some rather long lectures of the 'differences in shades of purple', often prior to Daphne's birthday. Slowly, the wheels in Velma's head started to turned. But before she was able to process the objects fast enough, Marcie spoke up.

"But I already have my gear... Plus those look way to big for me."

"Oh no..." Velma gulped, Marcie's statement making all the pieces fall into place. A frustrated hand came up to try to shield her face from the impending doom she was about to receive.

"Oh yes. Take good care of me Teach!"

Daphne grinned, tossing one of the knee pads up and down with a casual grace. Knowing full well that Velma fully understood what she meant, and was enjoying every moment of her friend's dismay.


	6. Doubts and Beatniks

Velma had been quiet the whole time riding home. With new board in hand, she was happy about the purchase, but she was also considering the new prospect of teaching Daphne as well. Though she was sure the woman had learned before, it had been a while and Daphne didn't ride as much as she did, so she might have to learn again.

Against having to teach, part of her couldn't help but think this was a good idea. Marcie seemed to look up to Daphne, and she would be more prone to doing things, if the older woman was being subjected to it as well. Though it still made Velma a bit tense.

Unsure she was ready to be an instructor for both, Velma quickly excused herself when they got home, retreating to the safety of the house in order to think things over. She was hardly missed, as Marcie chatted up Daphne about their purchases, and compared their gear and boards.

Fleeing to the bathroom, Velma took up a position on the second floor to overlook the two of them in the backyard. She watched them, unable to hear about them gossiping about their purchases, when Velma slumped herself upon the toilet. Using it as a makeshift seat, she placed her head in her hands and let out a deep breath.

"Sigh."

She didn't have much time to contemplate till a voice came from the bathroom door.

"Why so troubled?"

Leaning on the frame of the open door, Shaggy had noticed her fleeing upstairs. And as there was a bathroom on the first floor, and her room was there as well... there weren't too many reasons for the woman to have traveled all the way up to the second floor. Looking his way, Velma was feeling doubtful about the whole thing. Was she really the one to go and teach Marcie? Was she doing the right thing? And could she teach Daphne as well?

Seeing the look on her face, he could guess what she was thinking about. He knew that her attitude was not as positive as it should be, and she needed to turn that around.

Seeing Shaggy, she at first tensed up. For some random reason, she had the urge to flee from him. Probably it was more her problems and doubts, then the man himself. But she wanted to run, none the less. But this was Shaggy... Of all people, he was the last person she should be afraid or ashamed with facing. Plucking her glasses off her face, she used her other hand to cover her eyes. She was trying to calm herself down, and face her insecurities enough to vocalize them to Shaggy. But it was hard.

Shaggy didn't miss her reaction to him being there. But he figured that she needed to talk to someone right now. And he was as good as any, especially with her best friend being part of the problem.

Moving into the bathroom, he mentally thanked who ever had come up with the spacious design of the room. Allowing him to get in and sit down without bumping into Velma on the toilet. This was probably one of the main reasons that Daphne claimed one of the upstairs bedrooms… Purely for the bathroom.

Seconds ticked by, and silence settled between the two, but Shaggy didn't move. At least, not until she started talking about what was bothering her. And Velma knew that. Inwardly, she wanted to curse at the man to leave her alone, but he just wanted to help. He always wanted just to help. And much as it drove her nuts some times, she couldn't fault him for it. Well, not for long that is. Sighing, she parted the fingers one her one had to look at the blurry shape in front of her. She could tell, even with her bad vision that he was staring at her as he sat at the edge of the bathtub across from her.  
Letting her hand drop, she hung her head for a second as she fought back the million and one things that were bouncing around in her head. Trying to sort out what was really what she needed to deal with right now.

_'Why so troubled?'_ Shaggy's words echoed in her own head. _What really was her problem?_

Standing up, she moved back to the window to look at the scene below. Placing her glasses back on her face, to make the world come back into focus. But Daphne and Marcie hadn't moved at all. They were still excited and talking about their boards and gear. Little had changed since she had last looked at them.

Getting up, Shaggy was curious at what she was looking at. Thankful for his taller height, he was easily about to look past her head and see the two ladies chatting away below. Looking down at them and then leaning over to take a look at Velma, he put two and two together. A smile slowly crept over his face.

"You're jealous!" Shaggy said with a laugh, relief bubbling up. Happy that what was bothering Velma was something simple like that.

Spinning around with fire in her eyes, Velma was mad at Shaggy for laughing at her. As if her troubles were something that was funny to him. Gripping her one hand into a fist, she felt like giving him a good one… when the realization finally hit her.

She _was_ jealous!

Confused, and yet still mad at him, she shifted back onto the toilet to mull it over. Needing to sit down in order to think things out. _Was that really her problem? She was jealous that Daphne and Marcie were getting along?_ _She couldn't really fault Marcie for liking Daphne, since she was very much a people person. And it took a lot for someone to not instantly like the energetic red head when they met her for the first time. Heck, Daphne was her best friend after all. Yet Velma was getting mad that Daphne was relating to Marcie so quickly…_

"She looks like you… Doesn't she?" Shaggy spoke up from beside her. His laughter had died down and he had moved to continue looked down at them. "Not really like' physically like you. But she looks like you when you were little."

Later that night from the first day Velma had promised Marcie that she was going to teach her, Velma had shared her plans with the rest of the gang at dinner. Just in case that the rest of the gang might be curious at what she was going to be doing outside. Which was probably when Daphne had started thinking about 'helping'. But there was a certain sparkle in Velma's eyes as she was talking about Marcie and her situation about her brother. While Velma never had siblings, she knew how difficult it was to break people's preconceived ideas about what girls can and can't do. So Shaggy bet that Velma felt connected to Marcie on another level. Like seeing a younger version of herself, in Marcie.

"…"

Thinking about it, Marcie was a lot like her when she was little. At least the same fire in her eyes that she had, when she wanted to learn to skateboard. And the same determination too. So could she really blame someone that she could feel connected to, for liking her best friend? And could she really blame her best friend for wanting to help her?

Hang her head; Velma couldn't believe how silly she had been. To get jealous over something so foolish, was not like her at all. _So what if they got along? Isn't that a good thing after all?_ It will make her job to much easier. And now Marcie liked her protective gear, which was really important. Daphne had just helped solve one of the major problems that she was having with Marcie, plus she got a new board out of the deal. She had sorely needed a new one. Especially, now that she was older and bigger than her old board.

Seeing that she had relaxed, and looked like she was thinking in the right direction… Shaggy's job was done. Snickering once, he leaned over to give her hair an affectionate ruffle; happy that she was feeling better. Once he finished with the mussing, he moved to leave. He only stopped for a second, to cast a wave back to her before disappearing into the rest of the house. Leaving her to snort at nothing, as she fussed to get her hair back in order.

"Thanks…" She spoke aloud, even though she knew he was already out of range to hear it.

Taking a deep breath in and out, she pushed herself off the toilet. Resolve in her eyes, she felt ready to take on the task of teaching both Marcie and Daphne, to the best of her ability. Doubts and fear behind, she was determined to prove herself, and be the best teacher she could be. Given enough time, they were going to blow to socks of her brother when he sees how much his little sister had learned! Velma just hoped that Marcie would have enough patience to learn at her own pace. And hoped that Daphne's presence would help temper that.

She would have to make sure when Marcie went home, to thank Daphne… well, _Maybe._


End file.
